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September 26, 2006

I Notice There's Been a Change in the Headline

Where this morning the opera was pulled because it was 'inflammatory', this latest headline has a different tenor (snort) all together.

Mozart opera withdrawn on fears of Islamist attack

Indignation erupted across Germany's political spectrum on Tuesday after a renowned opera house said it had dropped a controversial production of Mozart's Idomeneo from its programme because it feared becoming a target of Islamist extremists.

Wolfgang Schäuble, interior minister, attacked the decision by Berlin's Deutsche Oper not to show the 200-year-old work as "crazy", "ridiculous" and "unacceptable".

...Bernd Neumann, culture minister, said it showed "the democratic culture of free speech is in danger".

...Unlikely bedfellows have been united in protest at Deutsche Oper's decision. Conservative MPs from Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party found themselves agreeing with Dieter Wiefelspütz, a Social Democratic security expert, calling the cancellation "a concession to terrorists" and a "shameful" move, respectively.


Of course, there's always one apologist included for balance.
...A retired German Muslim leader who asked not to be named said he was concerned.

"This is typically the kind of reaction that shapes this persecution complex among young Muslims when what we need is a policy of de-escalation."


Thank you, Herr Doktor Freud.

Personally, I would instead counter with a swiftly implemented policy of DE-ASSKISSALATION.

Either way un-Medieval Mozart is schpinning in his potter's grave.


Posted by tree hugging sister at September 26, 2006 02:30 PM

Comments

What was the original title?

Posted by: Mike Rentner at September 26, 2006 03:06 PM

Lemme see if I can find it cached somewhere, Mike. Drudge's link had the 'inflammatory', so I paid little attention until I saw this on CNBC.

Posted by: tree hugging sister at September 26, 2006 03:27 PM

Here's the Reuter's off Drudge now:

Politicians slam Berlin opera for canceling Idomeneo

Hah!! And sorry ~ the word was 'provocative'

German opera house cancels provocative Mohammed staging


Berlin's Deutsche Oper has removed the provocative staging of a Mozart opera from its schedule for fear of enraging Muslims, the opera house said in a statement.
One of three opera houses in the German capital, it cancelled director Hans Neuenfels's production of "Idomeneo", a 1781 drama set in ancient Crete, because authorities warned it could present an "incalculable security risk".

Posted by: tree hugging sister at September 26, 2006 03:32 PM

Nobody has threatened anyone and the police also says they have no information about this.

Posted by: njus at September 26, 2006 04:41 PM

Guten Tag, njus! I haven't seen yet where there actually WAS a threat either ~ it just said the opera house was acting out of fear something WOULD happen and that the police had said they were taking a risk they couldn't protect them from. As far as threats, I'm also sure there would have been plenty of them had the production continued, as that seems to be Islamic modus outrage operandi lately.

(I wish Babelfish weren't so abysmal or I could understand your website better than with my fraktured German. Freimauer is 'free mason' I'm guessing?)

Posted by: tree hugging sister at September 26, 2006 04:53 PM

From what does "German muslim leader" retire? Just sayin'.

Posted by: Hucklebuck at September 29, 2006 10:20 AM

Yeah. Really. I hadn't noticed that, Hucklebuck (and a warm Swill welcome, by the way!). The postal service...?

Posted by: tree hugging sister at September 29, 2006 10:28 AM